Freakling (16 page)

He picked up
Diseases of the Inner Ear
and thumbed through it. Diagrams, sketches, explanations, causes of dizziness, it was all there. Absolutely astonishing. He had no idea that the inside of his ear was such a complicated system. Taemon knew that if he studied this book for a few days, he’d be able to use his psi to cure most earaches. If he had psi, that was.

“So many books,” Taemon whispered. Even though he had permission to be there, he couldn’t help feeling that he was doing something illegal. In the city, he’d never be allowed to see books like these. They would be locked up in the safe at the healers’ guild.

He picked up another book.
How Glass Is Made.
He scanned a few pages. With this, he could make windows, windshields, bottles — if he had psi.

Taemon’s emotions were an odd combination. The thought of all this knowledge in one place, the things that he could do once he understood how things worked, the wealth this room held — all that was sweet. Then came the bitter realization that without psi, the knowledge was inert. Still interesting, but not something he could act on. It was sad, in a way. So much understanding in a place where no one could do anything with it.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Amma whispered.

“All these books,” said Taemon. “What are they for?”

“There’s a word for a room like this. It’s called a library.” Amma looked around and smiled.

“Library,” Taemon repeated, the word dancing across his tongue. “But why does it have to be secret? Since nobody in the colony has psi, why keep the books hidden away?”

“Do you know what an atom is?” Mr. Parvel asked.

“No,” Taemon said. But the word sounded familiar. Hadn’t Challis said something about atoms — atoms he’d taken from the water?

“Amma, fetch me —”

“Here it is, Da,” Amma said, handing her father a book she’d slipped from a nearby shelf. Mr. Parvel passed the book to Taemon.

“Understanding the Atom,”
he read from the book’s spine.

“Everything in the world is made up of tiny building blocks called atoms,” Mr. Parvel explained. “Trust me when I tell you this: if you knew what an atom is and how it works, and if you had psi, you could rip the entire planet to shreds.”

Taemon thrust the book back toward Mr. Parvel. “Okay, but why would anybody want to rip their planet to shreds? That’s pretty stupid.”

“It is indeed. But humankind has done some pretty stupid things throughout history. Just think of the Great War and all its devastation. Think of how Nathan was treated. Just because someone has knowledge of how something works doesn’t mean he or she fully understands it. That person might destroy the world accidentally. Or maybe try to rip only part of the planet to shreds. The part where their enemies live.”

Taemon’s eyes grew wide. Mr. Parvel’s point was beginning to dawn on him.

“This room is only a part of the library,” Amma explained. “There are twelve rooms, most of them bigger than this. Deep in caves of this hill. We have thousands of books here, some collected by Nathan himself. Actually he created the library first, even before he started the city and before he created Mount Deliverance. Since then, my family has been collecting and cataloging books, many of which have been smuggled into the colony from the city. Knowledge from every age.”

Mr. Parvel nodded slowly. “Imagine for a moment that the psi wielders gained access to this. They would have unlimited knowledge to combine with their unlimited power. What do you think would happen?”

“Chaos,” breathed Taemon. “Ruin. Disaster. But there aren’t any psi wielders in the colony, except for you and Challis, right? So the library is safe?”

“For the most part, yes,” Mr. Parvel said. “Only people who truly need the books are allowed access. And even then, only people we know we can absolutely trust. The temptation to spread rumors about the library or to sell the information to the priests in the city is too great for many to resist.”

Amma took the book from Taemon and placed it back on the cart. “That’s my family’s job: to keep the library safe.”

“I thought . . . you made pottery.”

Amma laughed. “That’s my mom’s job. The rest of us protect the library. The stone walls and the psi lock help keep the library safe. No one but my family knows the combination. And we’re sworn to guard it with our lives.”

Taemon swallowed. Technically, he was a psi wielder. Because of his clairvoyance. He glanced over at Mr. Parvel, who was studying his reaction to all this. They had trusted him with their secret. He should probably trust them with his. “Listen, there’s something I —”

Mrs. Parvel came bursting into the room. “Challis is here and wants to talk to you. She says it’s urgent.”

Mr. Parvel sighed. “What now?”

The three of them filed back through the psi door, which either Amma or Mr. Parvel locked behind them, and found Challis nibbling a slice of sweet tuber tart at the kitchen table.

“Ah, Thayer. I came to collect you. You will have learned enough for one night, yes?”

Came to collect him? Challis seemed to be orchestrating this entire evening.

“I was hoping to talk to Mr. Parvel a little more. I still have a lot of questions.”

“Yes, yes, but not tonight. Trust me. Auntie knows best.”

The next frivolics were set for six days later, and Taemon welcomed a little diversion. He still hadn’t been able to find a way to tell Amma about his psi. How would he explain it? Would she even believe him? If he could talk to her alone today, he would try.

Amma hadn’t told him anything except to meet her, Vangie, and Jad next to the fountain in the square at five o’clock that evening.

At the square, the first thing Taemon noticed was a boat floating in the water that surrounded the fountain. It was a child’s boat, only big enough for two people, maybe three if you sat down and let your legs dangle over the sides.

Taemon laughed. What had Amma cooked up this time?

He looked around but didn’t see his friends. That was okay. He was a few minutes early.

Taemon sat on the cement bench that surrounded the fountain and pulled out his journal. Maybe if he sketched the workings of the psi lock, he would have proof of his clairvoyance. As he drew the pins and wheels and bolts, the unlocking sequence began to come to him. He was only a squinch away from solving the sequence to that lock.

He drew the psi lock once again.

Even if he figured it out, he wouldn’t be able to open it. But he still needed to solve the puzzle, to crack the code. His mind wouldn’t let it alone. When he drew it a third time, he saw it. The only sequence that made sense. Skies! He’d never seen anything like that before. He had no way to test it, but he was certain he’d found the right sequence. He could feel it.

“Hoy, Taemon.” Vangie startled him as she sat down. He dropped his journal, and she bent down to pick it up. “What’s this?”

Before he could answer, she was thumbing through it. He felt panic rise through his spine. The library’s lock was in there!

“Cool,” Vangie said, twisting her body so that the journal was out of his reach. “Wow, what’s this one? A byrider with one wheel? It uses psi, doesn’t it? So flaming cool!” She flipped forward a few pages. “Oh, Skies. Look at that! But what is it?” She stared at his drawings of the psi lock, her brow furrowed.

“It’s nothing,” Taemon said, snatching the journal back and stuffing it into his jacket pocket. Time to change the subject. “Have you seen Amma yet?”

“Cha. She’s headed this way.” Vangie pointed across the square.

Amma walked up and handed him an old-fashioned sailor’s jacket and cap. Only the Good Earth knew where she’d dug those up. She saluted. “Ahoy, Captain! Let me introduce you to the mighty
Sea Flea.
We’re giving free boat rides today.”

“Me? Captain?” Taemon asked. “How can I move a boat without psi?”

Amma rolled her eyes. “Ever heard of an oar?”

“Or? Or what?”

Vangie and Amma laughed, but Taemon shrugged. How under Blue Skies was he supposed to know these things?

Amma walked over to the boat, reached in, and pulled out a stick, the bottom half of which had been flattened. “This”— she held the stick high and shook it —“is an oar. You use it like so”— she waved it next to her side —“to move the boat forward.”

Taemon grimaced. “Can’t someone else be the captain?”

“Don’t look at me,” Vangie said. “That jacket’s navy blue. Thoroughly not my color.”

Amma snorted.

“What?” Vangie asked. “I’m a Flower. Appearances are important to me.”

“I was really hoping you’d do it. Come on, Taemon. It’ll be good for you. Look, the water’s only a few inches deep, so you can use the oar like a pole and push off the bottom to move the boat. It’s not that hard.”

The water
did
seem pretty shallow. And unlike the ocean, there was no current in the fountain. He pushed aside his reluctance and forced a smile. “Okay. I’ll do my best.”

“Great!” Amma said. “Put on the jacket and cap.”

Taemon took off his own jacket, patted the pocket to make sure the journal was still there, then rolled it up and tucked it under the bench. Slipping on the captain’s jacket, he nodded as Amma explained in more detail what she wanted him to do. By the time she had finished, the square was filling up with people. It was the time when people milled around the square, talking and relaxing between work and dinner.

When Jad finally showed up, Amma held a big cone-shaped thing up to her mouth. “Ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention, please? This evening we are pleased to present the newly christened
Sea Flea,
with Captain Taemon at the helm.”

Taemon stood in a stoic posture, one foot in the boat and the other on the rim of the fountain’s pool. With what he hoped was a manly look, he saluted the crowd.

Amma grinned at him. “Captain Taemon will be taking passengers on a boat tour of the colony. You haven’t seen the colony till you’ve seen it from the water!”

Vangie was the first passenger, and Jad’s role was to give a short safety lecture, which included the proper use of something called a life jacket.

Each time Taemon sailed his wobbly course around the fountain, he felt a little more confident. Amma was right. It wasn’t so hard. Once he had relaxed a bit, he even added a little narration. “In the distance, you will see the majestic Mount Deliverance in all its glory, and to your right, Manchee’s Shoe Shop.”

Finally there was only one more child in line. It was the little girl who had come from the city just a couple of weeks ago. Her name was Kivvy. Taemon remembered how happy she’d been when she’d seen the hooks he made. Between that and the fact that they’d both been kicked out of the city, he found he had a bit of a soft spot for little Kivvy. She’d waited a long time in line, and Taemon wanted to give her a nice ride.

“My tuhn?” she asked.

Taemon nodded and helped her into the boat. “Do you want to go fast or slow?”

Kivvy smiled. “Fast. Vewy fast.”

“Okay,” he said. “Here we go!”

Taemon pushed off, and around the fountain they went. Kivvy laughed, and that warmed him all the way through. “How are things at Marka’s house?” he asked. “Is the dog behaving himself?”

Kivvy nodded. “I used to have a cat. In my psi house.”

“What was her name?” Taemon asked.

“Boodle. Mam said she ran away, but I think the bad men took her just like they took Mr. Allet. And Mrs. Murney.”

So people really were disappearing. Who was taking them? And why?

They were back where they had started. Taemon tried to think of something that would end Kivvy’s ride on a happy note. As Amma helped the little girl out of the boat, Taemon removed his hat and attempted an elaborate, silly bow. But he lost his balance, wheeling his arms in an effort to stay in the boat. He lost the contest with gravity and fell backward into the water.

The water was deep enough to cover his face. Sunlight broke through the surface in splinters of rainbow, then his vision went dark. He was back in the sea cave. He couldn’t breathe. He was trapped. No, this wasn’t the sea cave. This was someplace different, someplace much, much worse. Someone was about to kill him. No, wait. It wasn’t Taemon that was about to be killed. It was Yens. The Republikites had Yens, and they were going to kill him.
You must decide,
someone was saying.
Think carefully. You must decide.

Two hands reached through the water, grabbing his jacket and yanking him upward. “Are you okay?”

He sat up, wiped the water out of his eyes, and looked up to see Amma’s face.

People were staring at him.

He couldn’t remember why he was in the water.

Kivvy giggled. “Funny Taemon. Do it again!”

Everyone laughed, and the tension broke. Taemon remembered now about the frivolics and the boat rides.

“C’mon, Kivvy,” Amma said. “We’ll let funny boy dry off. I’ll give you another boat ride, if you’d like.”

Taemon fished the hat out of the water and sloshed out of the fountain’s pool. He took deep breaths. What had happened? Some kind of anxiety episode?

After Kivvy’s second ride was over, Amma tied up the boat and came over to Taemon.

“You scared me,” Amma said. “When you fell in, you didn’t move. You just lay there with your eyes open.”

Taemon ran a hand through his wet hair. “Cha, sorry about that. I, um, had a bad experience with water not too long ago.”

Amma stifled a laugh. “Sorry. I shouldn’t laugh, but you know, my birth sign is Water.”

“Never boring.” Taemon smiled and looked down at his shoes, which were creating rivulets on the cobblestones. He peeled off the wet captain’s jacket and handed it to Amma, then retrieved his own jacket. He wasn’t ready to talk to Amma about clairvoyance just yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Taemon woke up early the next day, determined to find a way to talk to Amma. He’d show her the drawings in his journal and explain everything. She had trusted him enough to tell him about her abilities, and he should do the same. Taemon dressed quickly and grabbed his jacket. If he hurried, he could be back before Drigg even got out of bed.